1) What time does my child need to be at school?

School begins at 7:30 a.m. Supervision is provided beginning at 7:00 a.m. Students are expected to be in homeroom classes when the bell rings at 7:30 a.m.

2) What do I need to know about transportation?

Car riders: Morning and afternoon traffic is very congested. Plan to arrive early to avoid delays. Two lines of traffic eventually merge into one line for drop-off under the canopy. You may prefer to park and walk your child across the traffic line as the crossing guard directs. Plan to arrive by 2:15 for afternoon pick-up. If you choose to park, you must escort your child back across the traffic line as directed by the crossing guard. Bus riders: Bus Information is texted to parents to the phone number on file in PowerSchool. Parents must notify the CMS office in writing of any change in their child’s bus schedule and must also contact the Cleveland City Schools Transportation at 423-472-9576 to determine if space is avail-able.

3) How do we pay for lunch and what is my child’s lunch #?

Breakfast and lunch are provided free of charge to all CCS students.

4) What about medication needed during the day?

In order for your child to receive medication during the school day, the parent must fill out a form in the office. Prescription medication requires the physician’s signature on the form. Medications must be in the original containers with the prescription label. Distribution of non-prescription medication requires a parent signature on a non-prescription form.

5) How are check-out and check-in handled?

A parent or approved designee must come into the school office and sign the student out. When the child returns to school, he/she must bring a note from the doctor con-firming appointment date/time or a note from the parent explaining other reasons for missing class. The parent must accompany the child to the office when returning to school. The student is then given a pass back to class marked excused or unexcused.

6) What if I need to contact my child during the day?

Urgent messages can be delivered to your child as needed. Students are not called from the classroom for phone calls. Items such as sports equipment/uniforms, band instruments, lunches, etc. can be left in the front office and will be delivered by the office staff in a timely manner.

7) What if my child is absent?

Parents are expected to notify the CMS office at 423-479-9641 by 9:00 a.m. when a child is absent. The child must bring a note from the parent or doctor when returning to school. The note should be given to the attendance person outside the office on the way to homeroom. Excused or unexcused absences are specified in the student’s agenda. Parents can also email absence notes to our attendance officer, Chad Buckner, at cbuckner@clevelandschools.org.

8) What is the procedure for picking up assignments when my child is absent?

Upon returning to school, your child is responsible for asking the teacher(s) for make-up work. Once your child has missed three days, you may call the CMS office and ask for the assignments to be available for you to pick up in the office.

9) What is the procedure for prior-arranged absences?

If you know in advance your child will miss a day or more of school, please send a note with your child to the office. The office staff will provide your child with a form that needs to be signed by all teachers the day PRIOR to the absence. The form then needs to be returned to the CMS office for attendance data entry. Although unexcused, the prior arranged absence does not apply toward truancy.

10) How can I contact my child’s teacher?

E-mail is the preferred method. See the faculty list under the "staff" section of the website. You may phone the office to leave a message for the teacher, however they cannot be interrupted during class time and may not receive your message until the end of the day. Conferences with your child’s team may be arranged by contacting the team leader or through the counseling center.